Education Commons^™

Investigating K-3 Spanish Dual Language Immersion Teachers' Conceptions Of Mathematics-Focused Content-Based Language Teaching, Rachel C. Reeder

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Classroom instruction is influenced by and reflects teachers’ conceptions about their teaching. In elementary Dual Language Immersion (DLI) classrooms, teachers deliver mathematics and target-language instruction with the expectation that both can be developed concurrently. This qualitative study investigated K-3 Spanish DLI teachers’ conceptions about Mathematics-Focused Content-Based Language Teaching (MF-CBLT), which emphasizes the instructional parameters guiding teachers’ integration of content (mathematics), language (Spanish), and teaching (pedagogy).

The study examined 11 teachers’ statements and teaching samples to investigate their knowledge, beliefs, and preferences (i.e., conceptions) about MF-CBLT. A survey and individual teacher interviews provided access to what teachers had to say while …

Mathematical Mindsets: Fostering Student Engagement And Positive Mindsets Through The Use Of Challenging Tasks, Alison Hall

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

This paper explores the planned use of challenging mathematical tasks. These tasks provide the opportunity for students to improve mathematical thinking by working on problems that they do not yet know how to answer. This research involved a heterogeneous class of year 3 students from a Catholic parish primary school in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. A rubric was also developed to use in conjunction with these tasks, to support discussions with students, broaden their strategies in finding solutions and thereby improve their conceptual understanding. These pedagogical approaches were found to support the improvement of both students’ conceptual understanding in …

Violence In Mathematics Teaching. Reflections Inspired By Levinas’ Totality And Infinity, Adriano Demattè

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In mathematics class, violence is carried out in some usually not recognized situations. In this article, I share some reflections on the topic inspired by some passages of Totality and Infinity, work of the French-Lithuanian philosopher Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995). I find violence by the teacher in not promoting students’ understanding of mathematics, in a distorted use of rhetoric, and in interrupting an ethical relation. This article analyses situations taken from class activities, focusing on the teacher’s presentation of mathematical content and students’ interventions. I also propose that the improvement of interventions in mathematics education is possible and suggest theoretical …

أثر استخدام أسلوب حل المشكلات في تدريس الرياضيات في تنمية الحس العددي لدى طلبة الصف الخامس الأساسي. Effect Of Using Problem Solving Method To Teaching Mathematics On Developing The Number Sense Of Fifth Grade Students, خميس موسى نجم

Association of Arab Universities Journal for Education and Psychology

هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى الكشف عن أثر استخدام أسلوب حل المشكلات في تدريس الرياضيات في تنمية الحس العددي لدى طلبة الصف الخامس الأساسي. ولتحقيق هذا الغرض، تكونت عينة الدراسة من (175) طالبا وطالبة من طلبة الصف الخامس الأساسي والموزعين على أربع شعب: شعبتان للذكور إحداهما تمثل المجموعة التجريبية والأخرى المجموعة الضابطة، وشعبتان للإناث إحداهما تجريبية والأخرى ضابطة، حيث درست المجموعات التجريبية باستخدام أسلوب حل المشكلات، بينما ست المجموعات الضابطة بالطريقة التقليدية. تكونت أداة القياس من اختبار الحس العددي، وللإجابة عن أسئلة الدراسة واختبار فرضياتها، تم استخدام تحليل التباين الثنائي، حيث أشارت النتائج إلى الأثر الإيجابي لاستخدام أسلوب حل المشكلات في …

Advancing A Democratic Pedagogy And Supervision Framework: An Illustrative Case Of Teacher Questioning In Secondary Mathematics Instruction, Esther A. Enright, Douglas Wieczorek

Journal of Educational Supervision

This article pushes back against the evalu-centric view of improvement (Hazi, 2018; 2020) in the supervision literature by advocating for a democratic pedagogy and supervision framework developed to support instructional supervision and evaluation dialogue between teachers and leaders. This democratized approach honors and centers the teacher’s expertise and learning as well as the leader’s in the observation, debrief, and reflection process. Through this decentering of expertise in the instructional supervision cycle, our goal is to build leaders’ and teachers’ mutual capacity to develop, implement, and sustain democratic instructional supervision cultures in classrooms and schools. Additionally, we illustrate our framework through …

Karmel Oration: Excellent Progress For All: A Function Of Year-Level Curriculum Or Evidenced-Based Learning Progressions?, Dianne Siemon

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Excellent progress for all students is an ambitious but necessary goal if we are to improve the life choices of all students. At the moment, we are not serving all our students well despite the best efforts of teachers. We need to look further afield to the curriculum and assessment regimes that drive current practice. Grouping students by ability and offering a watered-down curriculum for some is not the answer. Evidenced-based learning progressions that point to what is important in ensuring all students build a deep, well-connected understanding of mathematics over time is what is needed to support reform at …

Mathematics Anxiety: Supplementary Materials, Sarah Buckley

Student learning processes

This publication contains two professional development activities for teachers which focus on mathematics anxiety. One is a team-based activity and the other is an activity for individuals. The activities encourage both mathematics teachers and non-mathematics teachers to reflect on their current practice, their attitudes towards mathematics, their ideas about teaching mathematics and the mathematical beliefs of students.

Mathematics Anxiety, Sarah Buckley

Student learning processes

This Mathematics Monograph is focussed on helping teachers and school leaders gain a better understanding of: How mathematics anxiety negatively impacts learning and teaching; the symptoms, causes and companions of mathematics anxiety; the difference between reducing mathematics anxiety directly and indirectly; and strategies that can identify and address mathematics anxiety in students and teachers. The Monograph is intended to present information for reflecting and planning how mathematics anxiety can be reduced and regulated in classrooms and in the school community.

Critical Connections Between Numeracy And Mathematics: Supplementary Materials, Dave Tout

Student learning processes

This publication contains three professional development activities targeted at teachers of mathematics. The activities for both groups and individuals focus on the challenge of word problems in maths and connecting maths to the real world. Also included are references, materials and resources related to the issue of the connections between numeracy and mathematics.

Tackling Maths Anxiety, Divya Kapoor

Teacher India

Maths anxiety is one of the leading causes of poor performance in maths. Divya Kapoor discusses simple instructional strategies to help teachers support students suffering from maths anxiety.

Learning Context Matters In Maths Performance, Jeny Raphael

Teacher India

PISA collects background information to understand contextual factors that affect the performance of students. Building on the evidence, Jeny Raphael discusses the impact of the learning environment on the character strengths of students, and its connection to their maths performance.

The Gentle Man Who Taught Infinity, Sheshagiri K.M. Rao

Teacher India

Sheshagiri KM Rao describes the non-conventional teaching methods of his high school mathematics teacher Channa who helped students to discover the beauty in mathematics.

A Case Study Of Effective Practice In Mathematics Teaching And Learning Informed By Valsiner's Zone Theory, Vince Geiger, Vince Geiger, Judy Anderson, Judy Anderson, Derek Hurrell

Derek Hurrell

The characteristics that typify an effective teacher of mathematics and the environments that support effective teaching practices have been a long-term focus of educational research. In this article we report on an aspect of a larger study that investigated ‘best practice’ in mathematics teaching and learning across all Australian states and territories. A case study from one Australian state was developed from data collected via classroom observations and semi-structured interviews with school leaders and teachers and analysed using Valsiner’s zone theory. A finding of the study is that ‘successful’ practice is strongly tied to school context and the cultural practices …

The Impact Of Common Core Mathematics Professional Development On Elementary Mathematics Teaching Self-Efficacy And The Resulting Effects On Their Student Achievement, Alissa Smith Lee

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this mixed-method study was to examine the impact of professional development on elementary mathematics teaching self-efficacy as well as the influence of teacher self-efficacy on student achievement. Statistical t tests were used to analyze the dispersion of the teachers’ personal mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs (PMTE) and mathematics teaching outcome expectancy efficacy beliefs (MTOE). To develop a broader perspective, a qualitative analysis of interview data was implemented. Unlike the results from the quantitative data, the qualitative data in this study revealed that meaningful participation in professional development increased teacher performance as well as enhanced their mathematical teaching efficacy. …

Thinking Maths: Learning Impact Fund Evaluation Report: Addendum To The Evaluation Report, Katherine Dix, Hilary Hollingsworth, Toby Carslake

Dr Hilary Hollingsworth

Thinking Maths is a three-term structured professional learning program for Years 6 - 9 mathematics teachers to engage middle school students’ mathematics learning. The Thinking Maths program has been developed by the South Australian Department for Education based on its Teaching for Effective Learning (TfEL) Framework. The program aims to address a significant drop in students’ mathematics performance in NAPLAN from Years 7 to Year 9. Thinking Maths supports teachers to improve students’ learning of mathematical content during the transition between Primary and Secondary school. Years 6 - 9 teachers participate in five professional learning days at 4 - 5 …

Thinking Maths: Learning Impact Fund Evaluation Report: Evaluation Report And Executive Summary, Katherine Dix, Hilary Hollingsworth, Toby Carslake

Dr Hilary Hollingsworth

Thinking Maths is a three-term structured professional learning program for Years 6 - 9 mathematics teachers to engage middle school students’ mathematics learning. The Thinking Maths program has been developed by the South Australian Department for Education based on its Teaching for Effective Learning (TfEL) Framework. The program aims to address a significant drop in students’ mathematics performance in NAPLAN from Years 7 to Year 9. Thinking Maths supports teachers to improve students’ learning of mathematical content during the transition between Primary and Secondary school. Years 6 - 9 teachers participate in five professional learning days at 4 - 5 …

Thinking Maths: Learning Impact Fund Evaluation Report: Addendum To The Evaluation Report, Katherine Dix, Hilary Hollingsworth, Toby Carslake

Dr Katherine Dix

Thinking Maths is a three-term structured professional learning program for Years 6 - 9 mathematics teachers to engage middle school students’ mathematics learning. The Thinking Maths program has been developed by the South Australian Department for Education based on its Teaching for Effective Learning (TfEL) Framework. The program aims to address a significant drop in students’ mathematics performance in NAPLAN from Years 7 to Year 9. Thinking Maths supports teachers to improve students’ learning of mathematical content during the transition between Primary and Secondary school. Years 6 - 9 teachers participate in five professional learning days at 4 - 5 …

Thinking Maths: Learning Impact Fund Evaluation Report: Evaluation Report And Executive Summary, Katherine Dix, Hilary Hollingsworth, Toby Carslake

Dr Katherine Dix

Thinking Maths is a three-term structured professional learning program for Years 6 - 9 mathematics teachers to engage middle school students’ mathematics learning. The Thinking Maths program has been developed by the South Australian Department for Education based on its Teaching for Effective Learning (TfEL) Framework. The program aims to address a significant drop in students’ mathematics performance in NAPLAN from Years 7 to Year 9. Thinking Maths supports teachers to improve students’ learning of mathematical content during the transition between Primary and Secondary school. Years 6 - 9 teachers participate in five professional learning days at 4 - 5 …

Thinking Maths: Learning Impact Fund Evaluation Report: Evaluation Report And Executive Summary, Katherine Dix, Hilary Hollingsworth, Toby Carslake

Literacy and Numeracy

Thinking Maths is a three-term structured professional learning program for Years 6 - 9 mathematics teachers to engage middle school students’ mathematics learning. The Thinking Maths program has been developed by the South Australian Department for Education based on its Teaching for Effective Learning (TfEL) Framework. The program aims to address a significant drop in students’ mathematics performance in NAPLAN from Years 7 to Year 9. Thinking Maths supports teachers to improve students’ learning of mathematical content during the transition between Primary and Secondary school. Years 6 - 9 teachers participate in five professional learning days at 4 - 5 …

Thinking Maths: Learning Impact Fund Evaluation Report: Addendum To The Evaluation Report, Katherine Dix, Hilary Hollingsworth, Toby Carslake

Literacy and Numeracy

Thinking Maths is a three-term structured professional learning program for Years 6 - 9 mathematics teachers to engage middle school students’ mathematics learning. The Thinking Maths program has been developed by the South Australian Department for Education based on its Teaching for Effective Learning (TfEL) Framework. The program aims to address a significant drop in students’ mathematics performance in NAPLAN from Years 7 to Year 9. Thinking Maths supports teachers to improve students’ learning of mathematical content during the transition between Primary and Secondary school. Years 6 - 9 teachers participate in five professional learning days at 4 - 5 …

Preparing Elementary School Teachers To Learn From Teaching: A Comparison Of Two Approaches To Mathematics Methods Instruction, Rossella Santagata, Cathery Yeh, Janet Mercado

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Teacher preparation programs face a significant challenge in determining how to design learning experiences that develop the combination of knowledge, practices, and dispositions needed for effective classroom teaching. Time constraints and the theory-practice divide are two well-documented concerns. We introduce the conceptual framework and design elements of a video-enhanced mathematics methods course that targets these concerns. The course centers on systematic reflection and analysis of practice intended to foster career-long learning. We then examine the impact of this course on several facets of learning-from-teaching competencies, including teacher knowledge, beliefs, and practices. Sixty-two pre-service teachers, enrolled in a one-year post-bachelor elementary …

Preservice Teachers' Understandings Related To Language In The Mathematics Classroom, Amanda T. Sugimoto

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Mathematics reforms are highlighting the important role that language plays in mathematics education. However, there remains a common misconception that mathematics is somehow language-free. This qualitative study explored 67 elementary preservice teachers’ developing understandings about the role of language in the mathematics classroom based on their practicum experiences. Iterative, open-coding techniques were used to analyze mentor teacher advice and preservice teachers’ observations of mentor teachers teaching a mathematics lesson. The tool helped focus preservice teachers’ attention on language in the mathematics classrooms. Implications are identified for mentor and preservice teachers’ knowledge and skill development toward linguistically responsive teaching practices.

Learning To Notice Mathematics Instruction: Using Video To Develop Preservice Teachers' Vision Of Ambitious Pedagogy, Elizabeth Van Es, Ana Auger, Tara Barnhart, Mary Cashen

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Video is used extensively in teacher preparation, raising questions about what and how preservice teachers learn through video observation and analysis. We investigate the development of candidates' noticing of ambitious mathematics pedagogy in the context of a video-based course designed to cultivate ways of seeing and interpreting classroom interactions. Qualitative analysis of candidates' observations of teaching at the beginning and end of the course generated a framework of practices and associated approaches for noticing instructional interactions. The 3 practices include attending to features of instruction, elaborating on observations, and integrating observations to reason about instruction. Findings reveal …

The Design And Enactment Of Modeling Tasks: A Study On The Development Of Modeling Abilities In A Secondary Mathematics Course, Danielle Buhrman

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study uses components of action and self-study research to examine the design and enactment of modeling tasks with the goal of developing student modeling abilities. The author, a secondary mathematics teacher, first closely examined the curriculum design and instructional decisions she made as she prepared for a unit on mathematical modeling in her precalculus course. Detailed descriptions of the timeline of events as this unit was enacted is then presented, providing insight into student and teacher interactions that occurred during an intense five weeks of modeling instruction. An analysis of these events identified ways in which students relearned how …

"Returning To The Root" Of The Problem: Improving The Social Condition Of African Americans Through Science And Mathematics Education, Vanessa R. Pitts Bannister, Julius Davis, Jomo Mutegi, Latasha Thompson, Deborah Lewis

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

The underachievement and underrepresentation of African Americans in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines have been well documented. Efforts to improve the STEM education of African Americans continue to focus on relationships between teaching and learning and factors such as culture, race, power, class, learning preferences, cultural styles and language. Although this body of literature is deemed valuable, it fails to help STEM teacher educators and teachers critically assess other important factors such as pedagogy and curriculum. In this article, the authors argue that both pedagogy and curriculum should be centered on the social condition of African Americans – …

A Case Study Of Effective Practice In Mathematics Teaching And Learning Informed By Valsiner’S Zone Theory, V Geiger, J Anderson, D Hurrell

Education Papers and Journal Articles

The characteristics that typify an effective teacher of mathematics and the environments that support effective teaching practices have been a long-term focus of educational research. In this article we report on an aspect of a larger study that investigated ‘best practice’ in mathematics teaching and learning across all Australian states and territories. A case study from one Australian state was developed from data collected via classroom observations and semi-structured interviews with school leaders and teachers and analysed using Valsiner’s zone theory. A finding of the study is that ‘successful’ practice is strongly tied to school context and the cultural practices …

Acer Research Conference Proceedings (2016), Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

The focus of ACER’s Research Conference 2016 will be on what we are learning from research about ways of improving levels of STEM learning. Australia faces significant challenges in promoting improved science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning in our schools. Research Conference 2016 will showcase research into what it will take to address these challenges, which include: the decline in Australian students’ mathematical and scientific ‘literacy’; the decline in STEM study in senior school; a shortage of highly qualified STEM subject teachers, and curriculum challenges. You will hear from researchers who work with teachers to engage students in studying …

Is The Flipped Classroom Pedagogy Effective For All Students?, Stephanie Quarato

EDL Sixth Year Theses

In my experience as a mathematics teacher, I have learned that mathematics is a subject that is commonly paired with negative feelings. Many individuals lack confidence in their ability to perform mathematics. As a mathematics teacher, I am always looking for different ways to reach the needs of all of my students. The flipped classroom was one initiative that I implemented into my classroom to understand the benefits of learning in this unique way. In a flipped lesson, the students learn the lesson from a textbook or video as the homework, while the practice is completed in the classroom. The …

Numeracy Education Through Mobile Apps, Boris Handal, Iona Novak, Kevin Watson, Marguerite Maher, Jean Macnish, Katrina Eddles-Hirsch

Kevin Watson

Numeracy achievement of Australian school children is a national priority according to the Australian Curriculum. There is increasingly compelling evidence that numeracy needs to be a focus in all curriculum areas, not solely in mathematics (Human Capital Working Group, 2008). At the same time, there is an ever-increasing scope for the use of mobile technologies to enhance learning and teaching. This article examines how numeracy and mobile learning work together as teachers in the Middle Years are mentored to use iPad applications (apps) effectively within their own curriculum area to enhance the learning of numeracy for children in their classes.

Numeracy Education Through Mobile Apps, Boris Handal, Iona Novak, Kevin Watson, Marguerite Maher, Jean Macnish, Katrina Eddles-Hirsch

Boris Handal

Numeracy achievement of Australian school children is a national priority according to the Australian Curriculum. There is increasingly compelling evidence that numeracy needs to be a focus in all curriculum areas, not solely in mathematics (Human Capital Working Group, 2008). At the same time, there is an ever-increasing scope for the use of mobile technologies to enhance learning and teaching. This article examines how numeracy and mobile learning work together as teachers in the Middle Years are mentored to use iPad applications (apps) effectively within their own curriculum area to enhance the learning of numeracy for children in their classes.